For Hire
by Alpha Man 2.0
Summary: The newest Kim Possible villain arrives on the scene, and everybody wants a piece of him. He steals something valuable from Global Justice and starts to get on Kim's nerves. This is my first KP fanfic ever. Please review kindly. Thanks!
1. Prologue

"For Hire"

By Marvel Man

Prologue

"Time to go to work."

The sun was setting on Global Justice warehouse #1021; the day was over. Global Justice was an organization, essentially with good intentions, that saved the world often. It was, more or less, a secret organization, like the CIA or NSA. However, it didn't have such an acronym, unless you count "GJ." But "Global Justice" just sounds better.

As one can probably guess by now, someone was stealing something from Global Justice. This little fact shouldn't be surprising. GJ had tons of secret stashes and caches with even more secret equipment. If you were into secret things, this was ultimately the place for you. From new orbit-the-world devices to enhance-muscle serums, there were plenty of options at any GJ location.

A figure snuck into GJ warehouse #1021, and even though it was getting dark out, the moon made his appearance rather visible. Yes, the stature of this figure proved that he was obviously male. He wore a black and white outfit, and one could surmise that the material was Kevlar, an extra strong cloth that was bulletproof (among other things.)

He wore a white plastic belt with holstered twin pistols on either side. The person wore a white mask, resembling that which is worn by someone in the sport of paint ball. The eyes behind the mask hinted that this character was cold and ruthless. His arms, chest, and legs were silver, but the gauntlets on his forearms were chalked white. The sported a pack on his back, which he could use to fly. For purposes unknown, it will be referred to as a jetpack.

He held up his right hand to a ventilation opening, which was barred off. A cutting torch appeared out of the gauntlet, and the person burned the border of it, making an entrance. He slipped in relatively quietly. When he pushed himself into the main part of the shaft and down into a room, he was met with some GJ security guards.

"Hey!" one of them cried as he ran toward the person. The figure drew his twin pistols and aimed at the guard. A light blue blast of energy escaped the barrel of the gun, hit the guard square in the jaw, and incapacitated him. The other one growled, grabbed a nightstick, and ran toward the intruder.

The masked person positioned himself for defense and raised his arm. Instantly, a flat, red force-shield appeared out of the center of the gauntlet. It glowed with red light. The guard's nightstick hit it fiercely, but nothing happened. The person being assaulted made a sharp slash with his force-shield, knocking the guard away and unconscious.

He ran toward a door and pushed it open. The facility's alarms sounded suddenly. However, the intruder didn't have time to deal with more guards, so he ran down the nearest hall. It was clear that he knew where he was going; he had obviously glanced at the building's schematics before entering.

He entered a large chamber with a huge computer. The person ran to it and started typing on the large blue keyboard. He wanted something. It didn't take long to hack the system (or whatever he was doing), because he soon had a thin, silver memory stick in his hand. The memory stick had a neck band attached to it, and that is what the person held it by. One can deduce by now that this person was a thief.

Although he gazed triumphantly at his prize for a couple of seconds, he knew he had to escape before any authorities showed up: not that he couldn't handle them or anything. He wasn't met with sirens, but with a much unexpected voice that was somewhat high pitched. "Waah! KP! I'm stuck on the window again!"

"Oh, Ron, why can't you have a little more… finesse?"

"KP, I don't do finesse."

Then an even stranger sound followed, "Nope. Don't do. Don't do." The thief guessed that some kind of animal had produced such a squeak, but in the form of words? That was quite baffling.

"C'mon, Ron! I think he's down this way!" a female's voice called.

The intruder wanted to know just who these people were; they didn't sound like guards or anything. He stepped out into the hallway and encountered them. The first was a girl with a very attractive build. She had semi-long red hair and a very pretty face. The thief noted some characteristic about her lip, though.

The second was a boy, probably about her age as well. He had blond-reddish hair, freckles, and a bewildered look on his oval-shaped face. He wore the same outfit as the girl. It was a black T-shirt, gloves, and baggy dark green pants. The thief noted again that such an outfit worked better for the girl than it did for the boy, but then again, everything did.

"Okay, whoever you are," the girl said in a commanding tone, "you better give back whatever you stole!"

"Sorry," the intruder responded, "but unless you're willing to buy it, I'm not giving it back."

"Yo, KP! Look at that mask-thingy!" the freckled boy said, "It's like totally freaking me out!"

A small, pinkish rodent hopped on the boy's shoulder, "Freaking out! Freaking out!" It repeated the boy's words with a squeak.

"I don't want to have to fight you for it," the girl said to the intruder, supposedly ignoring her sidekick and his pet.

"Well, if you're not going to make this interesting, I'd better go." The figure that freaked Ron out made a small jump upwards and activated his jetpack. It carried him through the glass roof and into the night.

The girl referred to as KP pulled out a grappling gun that looked like a hairdryer. She pointed it at an edge of the opening the thief had just made. It yanked her up there too. She flipped through the opening and retracted her grappling gun. She took aim again, but this time, she aimed at the escapee's foot.

The hook went around it and yanked him back, causing him to gag somewhat from the shock of the pull. He turned back to the girl on the roof, "Hmm. So you _do_ want to make this interesting." He descended back down to the rooftop.

"I don't think we've met, so I'll take the liberty of introducing myself," the thief said. "Name's Mercenary."

"And I take it you haven't heard of me," the girl replied, "since most villains I run into say my name when they first spot me. I'm Kim Possible."

"Hmm. Catchy."

"Do I have to make you give back that thing or what?"

"But so feisty. I like you."

"Don't be cute," Kim said sourly, "I've beaten better looking guys than you before."

"It's just the mask, and you'll find I'm even uglier once you get to know me."

"Sorry, I don't visit prisons!"

Kim made a jump at Mercenary, attempting to perform a roundhouse kick that would smack him across the face. She had no such luck. Mercenary blocked every attack she performed gave her back more than she could handle.

"What, do you have like super strength or something?" she asked.

"Enhanced strength is more like it. See, this suit I'm wearing enhances my strength, speed, and stamina to high levels. I also come prepared with a surprisingly powerful arsenal. Like this, for example."

Upon uttering the last syllable, Mercenary thrust forward his right gauntlet at Kim. The previously used cutting torch was now a flamethrower, which was undoubtedly cause for concern. And while most girls her age would have yelped and screamed, Kim Possible did not. She kept a straight face and dodged to the left.

Kim had to flip herself over the edge of the rooftop to escape the flames licking at her. Mercenary saw her hands as Kim held on and whipped out one pistol. Kim grunted a little bit, and Mercenary fired. The blast hit where her hand was holding, breaking that little part of the roof off.

Mercenary didn't chuckle, mainly because he didn't hear Kim scream. Instead, his hunch was correct, and Kim flipped back over the edge at him. Apparently, she was just as agile as Mercenary had guessed. He liked a formidable opponent. He didn't get much of those these days.

Kim dashed at Mercenary and planted her foot into his stomach, knocking him down. "Why are you doing this?" she asked loudly.

"Same reason why you are stopping me."

At his reply, Kim was confused. That really didn't answer her question. She didn't have time to ponder the response, however, because before she knew it, Mercenary had boosted up and forward with his jetpack, tackling Kim.

The two rolled in momentum for a bit, until Kim stopped the movement by grabbing onto a pipe. She kicked Mercenary off her and got up quickly. He too rose to his feet and readied himself for another go. Kim tried to psyche him out, but that proved to be a bad decision.

When she jolted forward falsely, Mercenary responded by pointing his left gauntlet forward. Something fired out of it. Kim wasn't sure exactly what it was, but all she knew was that it was a problem. Suddenly Kim found herself tied up from shoulder to knee by a cord. She remembered that a small ball shot out of his gauntlet, and when it hit her, the ball exploded into a cord that tied her up. That must have been it.

"You… you won't get away with this!"

"I always do," Mercenary said to her. "Oh, and by the way, cute belly button."

And with that, Mercenary took off. Kim growled with frustration as she watched him fly away. Frustration wasn't in her nature, but Kim was especially peeved because a guy made a snide comment about her appearance… and got away! That was just infuriating!

"I'm coming, KP! Ron Stoppable is on his way! Ooh! Aaaaah!"

Kim sighed as she watched her partner, Ron Stoppable, and his pet, Rufus, climb through the shattered window made by Mercenary. The two quickly ran to Kim and untied her. They had surprised looks on their faces. This was one of those times where they saw something rare: Kim Possible tied up. That like _never_ happened!

"So, who was that guy?" Ron asked.

Kim got up and brushed herself off.

"A guy who just got on my bad side."

---

_-Kim Possible Opening Theme Song-  
_I'm your basic, average girl  
and I'm here to save the world  
you can't stop me 'cause I'm  
Kim-Po-ssi-ble  
there is nothin' I can't do  
but when danger calls just know that I am on my way  
(know that I am on my way)

it doesn't matter where or when there's trouble  
if you just call my name  
Kim Possible

call me, beep me if you wanna reach me  
when you wanna page me it's ok  
whenever you need me baby  
call me, beep me if you wanna reach me  
(call me! beep me! if you wanna reach me!)

Doesn't matter where,  
doesn't matter when  
(doesn't matter when!)  
I will be there for you  
till the very end  
(till the very end)

danger or trouble  
I'm there on the double  
you know that you always can call  
Kim Possible

"So what's the sitch?"

Call me, beep me, if you wanna reach me


	2. Act One

Act One

Middleton High School.

Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable walked through the main doors of the school's facility and into the hallway. Rufus, a naked mole rat, was snacking on a tortilla chip as he sat slouched on Ron's shoulder.

Kim pulled her math homework out of her backpack as she walked and checked it over for any mistakes. Sure enough, it was flawless. Well, at least she could feel good about that. It wasn't every day that the bad guy got away. Kim and Ron approached their locker and opened it.

Inside was a monitor screen; it blipped and an African American boy appeared to greet them. It was pretty obvious that he didn't get out much, as was evidenced by his soda cup and crumpled up candy wrappers. "So, I take it the mission didn't go so well last night."

"I'd never met the guy before, Wade," Kim explained. "How was I supposed to know his whole fighting style? Who is this guy anyway?"

"Glad you asked," Wade smirked onscreen. "His name's Mercenary. He's like the best dude for hire around. He excels in being a thief or enforcer, though I hear that his personal favorite is human hunting."

"Human hunting?"

"Uh… yeah, I don't really know the terminology for it, but I think it's where someone gives him a name and he goes and get them. The target usually has to be brought in alive."

"Has he killed anybody?" Kim asked.

"I wouldn't be surprised."

"What exactly did he steal?"

"It was something very important to Global Justice: the Kingston 5000x, an advanced memory stick that has files of every person on the planet!"

"Even those poor people in Africa?"

"I would assume so. Global Justice makes it their business to keep tabs on everything about everyone."

"Dude! What ever happened to privacy!" Ron screamed.

"If this Mercenary guy has it, the price could go into the millions. I can think of a couple of bad guys that would want to get their hands on it," Wade finished.

"No kidding. Well, Ron and I have to go to class. Call me if you find out anything else, Wade."

And with that, Wade faded from the screen. Kim sighed and looked at Ron. He smiled. It was one of those "Everything will be okay" smiles. Kim smiled back, and the two walked to class.

As Kim walked into her math class, she was surprised to see someone sitting in her seat. It was boy, tall and thin, with dark blond hair. On the tall scale, he was probably one inch higher than Kim, and on the weight scale, he was probably on par with Ron.

"Excuse me," Kim said to him, "you're in my seat."

"Oh, sorry. I just moved here. I don't know anyone."

"Oh! Well, I'm Kim… Kim Possible."

"I'm Nathan."

There was a slight pause, then Kim asked, "Nathan what?"

"Nathan Porter. This is your seat?"

"Yes."

"Then I'll move. Sorry again."

"It's no big. So, how long have you been here?"

"Couple weeks. I just settled in. Nice place."

"Yeah, it is."

Suddenly, Ron Stoppable strode through the class doors. He wasn't with Kim when she entered, maybe he went to get a drink of water or something. "Yo! Ron Stoppable has arrived!"

"Stoppable! Sit down!"

"Oh, sure thing, Mr. Barkin."

Mr. Barkin turned to the rest of the class, "Now, I'm sure you've all heard of Euclid. He was a major master of geometry, and his teachings will lead you to higher education. Let's get it on!"

By now, Nathan had moved to a seat in the back of the class. There was a seat next to Kim, but it was soon occupied by Kim's close friend, Monique.

"How's it going, girl? You catch any bad guys yet?"

"Actually, no." Kim answered, "I had a rough night. Didn't catch anybody. It's all rather frustrating."

"I'm sure you'll… Whoa! Who is that?"

"Oh him? New kid. I think his name's Nathan."

"Do you think he's cute?"

"Not particularly. What about you?"

"Well, his hair style's a little whacked up, but I could do so much with him. Mm-hmm!"

Kim smiled and rolled her eyes, "I think it's pretty obvious that he doesn't play any sports. I don't think he's an athlete."

Monique was about to respond, but the kimmunicator went off. An embarrassed Kim Possible stood up, made a nod to Mr. Barkin, and went outside to take the call.

"Go, Wade."

"I managed to scramble some information on Mercenary. He's got like the biggest payroll of any other mercenary!"

"Meaning?"

"It costs big bucks to hire him."

"How come?"

"He's very good at his job," Wade explained, "and he's never been caught by any authorities."

"There's a first time for everything. But tell me, Wade: you didn't interrupt my high school learning process to give me more info on this new bad guy, did you?"

"You know me too well. Drakken's been spotted near the United States Mint."

"Any idea why he's there?"

"Maybe he needs money? Erm, _more_ money?"

"He's probably planning to hire Mercenary," Kim said. "I'll go get Ron."

---

"SHEGO!"

"What is it now, Dr. Drakken?"

"Shego, if I've told you once, I've told you a gazillion times—"

"'Gazillion'? Really makes you sound like a genius."

"Oh, don't patronize me, Shego! Why aren't you making sure that Kim Possible doesn't show up? My lackeys can handle the heavy lifting."

"Are saying I can't lift because I'm a girl?"

"Erm, well, um, no? I'm saying that your purpose is not that of a lackey's! It's a compliment, really."

"Just shut up and tell me why we are stealing five million dollars."

The blue faced man known as Dr. Drakken stroked his chin evilly. His chin, like the rest of his face, was pale blue, and there was a somewhat questionable scar on his left eye. His hair was in a pony tail.

The woman referred to as Shego was tapping her foot impatiently. Her body was fine and her skin was pale green. Shego's hair was dark green (on the verge of pitch black) and was very long, trailing down her back. She stood with her arms akimbo, waiting for an answer.

"Well?" she finally asked.

"It has come to my recent attention that you, Shego, do more thinking that you should!"

"This is about that Mercenary guy, isn't it? Let me guess: he just stole something from Global Justice, you figure it's important and want to buy it off him."

Drakken stood aghast, his eye twitching. "How in God's name did you figure that out!"

"Check your back pocket."

Drakken groaned and pulled a crumpled sheet of paper out of his back pocket. "Things to do: go to mint, get money, battle Kim Possible, escape, and use five million from mint to hire Mercenary and/or buy gizmo off him."

Shego chuckled. Drakken frowned and groaned again, this time louder. He turned to one of his lackeys.

"Lackey #2! Have you decrypted the mint's safe yet?"

"Uh, on it, boss. It's pretty tricky. Too many wires."

"Well, get on with it! We don't know how much time we have until Kim Possible and her sidekick (whose name escapes me) show up and spoil my plans yet again!"

"Maybe you should think ahead," Shego suggested sarcastically.

"Grr… Shego!"

Dr. Drakken's ranting was interrupted by the squeak of a naked mole rat. A red-haired girl and her freckled partner dropped down right between Shego and Drakken. Shego growled and made her hands glow bright green. The phenomenon of how this happens is difficult to explain.

"Kim Possible!" Drakken cried angrily, "how dare you barge in on my ranting!"


	3. Act Two

Act Two

Kim Possible positioned her hands and feet in a pose that was both heroic and ready for battle. Now, one might think that since Dr. Drakken is the main baddie here, he might be the one to fight the main good-doer. But it was not the case.

Shego practically pounced on Kim, who did a backwards cartwheel to get out harm's way. Cheerleading techniques proved useful once again. Shego made continuous slashes at Kim, but then the red-head grabbed Shego's hand just as it lunged in. Kim threw Shego into a heap of boxes.

Ron and Rufus cheered, jumping up and down. Kim's momentary respite was interrupted when several of Drakken's thugs diverted their attention from money grabbing to the teenage hottie. Kim was ready for them, though, as she always was. The henchmen stupidly charged at Kim. The cheerleader executed her move.

She leapt into the air and landed on the head of one of the leading henchmen. Then, after the henchman had made a satisfactory grunt of pain, Kim jumped onto the heads of the others. Like a frog that leaps from lily pad to lily pad, Kim Possible jumped from head to head. On one of the jumps, Kim lost her balance, but quickly recovered.

Kim was able to land on two henchmen's heads by her hands. She suddenly had a devious idea. Pushing herself up into the air, Kim thrust her hands together, bashing the two henchmen heads into each other. Kim landed square on her feet triumphantly. It feels good to win.

"Well done, Kim Possible!" Drakken said as he hopped onto a hover-pod. "You think you've outwitted me, but I've got a few more aces up my sleeve!"

Ron turned to Rufus, "Drakken: the cliché that walks like a man."

"SILENCE!" Drakken commanded. "Shego, attack now!"

But the green/black-clad woman was already ahead of him. She had engaged Kim in combat again. Kim jumped backwards and climbed up a column to the ceiling's rafters. Shego followed.

Trying to maintain their balance on the skinny rafters, Kim and Shego hounded it out on each other. Shego made some hits to Kim's shoulder, tearing the cloth and exposing the skin. Kim grumbled mildly at that and made an uppercut at Shego, but it missed. Shego's leg swooped under Kim, tripping her.

"Aw, what's the matter, Kimmy? Feeling like a loser? Just keep striking out wherever you go?"

"As if!" Kim shouted as she stood up on her hands and pushed hard, making her body flip over Shego. Kim's ankles were locked around Shego's neck. Shego gasped, and Kim pulled down with everything she had. When Kim let go at just the right moment, Shego was sent flying from the "leg throw."

Ron and Rufus winced as Shego flew face-first into a wall. Kim dusted off her hands and walked to Shego's shaking body with determination. Shego slowly rose to her feet, rubbing her face gently. "Ow…" Shego moaned as she looked up at Kim. The teen hero quickly spun around in a low roundhouse motion, smacking Shego with her foot.

Shego was knocked off the rafters and sent sprawling to the floor. She hit it with a thud. Drakken groaned and covered his eyes. "Grr! You think you're all that, but you're not!" He took out a remote control and pressed the button with agitation. Immediately, a helicopter burst through the ceiling and descended into the mint.

Kim Possible sighed, "You've got to be kidding. I just beat Shego, which means you have to give up."

"Never!" Drakken yelled back, "I am Dr. Drakken! I do not give up so easily! Besides, I'm rather sick of losing to you, Kim Possible!"

"You just like saying my name, don't you?"

"It's catchy!" he replied nervously. Kim saw that Drakken was sweating, but then his expression suddenly changed. Kim prayed that he would say "Aha!" or something like that.

"You are a fool, Kim Possible! Have you forgotten about your sidekick!"

Kim gasped and whipped around. Ron and Rufus were in the clutches of Shego.

"Wha? How?" Kim asked in utter confusion. "I thought you were down for the count, Shego!"

"It's called playing possum, works every time. Now, Dr. D and I have to be going, but just to make sure you don't follow us…"

Her hand glowed green. Shego hit Ron's arm so hard that she broke it. He cried out in pain. Then Shego chuckled and tossed him into some boxes, making a loud crash.

"RON!" Kim cried as she ran to him.

"Catch ya later, Kimmy," Shego said as she limped over to the helicopter's rope ladder and took hold of it.

"Until we meet again, Kim Possible! Farwell!" Drakken sang as the helicopter left the area.

Kim was pushing boxes off Ron and Rufus as she thought to herself: that's _two_ strikes.

---

The two heroes walked back into Middleton High School with downcast expression. This was definitely a bad day. Shego knew how to push Kim's buttons, that's for sure. Ron's arm was in a sling; he would be better in a week or so.

"Two strike outs!" Kim vented, "That is so not like me! Ron, am I coming down with something? It was Drakken! _Drakken_! How many times has he gotten away!"

Their definitely bad day definitely improved when Kim and Ron saw Monique, who was all smiles. "Uh, what's the sitch, Monique?" Kim asked, trying to forget about her incident with Drakken.

"Girl! I had like the best time ever!"

"Okay," Ron responded, not understanding, "what did you do?"

"I totally went out on a date!"

"Shut up!" Kim said wide-eyed, "With whom?"

"With me," Nathan answered. "I just had to ask Monique out when she wore that outfit."

Monique giggled, "Baby, it said 'I'm too fine for you!'"

Ron leaned against the locker, "Well, this is a nice moment… except I have NO IDEA WHO YOU ARE!"

"Oh, sorry. I'm Nate. Kim, Monique, and I met a little while ago. You're Ron? Monique told me a little about you. Nice… um… what was it, again? A naked mole rat?"

Suddenly, Nate's pager went off. He glanced at it emotionlessly. "Sorry, Monique, I have to take this. See ya later, guys."

Monique waved goodbye to him as he walked off, and then she turned back to her friends, Kim and Ron.

"So," Kim asked anxiously, "how was it?"

"How was what?" Monique replied.

"The date!" Ron and Kim answered in unison.

"Oh. We had a great time. I definitely want to see him again."

"Why? What do you see in him? I don't think he's that cute. I mean, you could do a lot better. I'm not saying he's ugly or anything, but he's kind of… mediocre. I wouldn't date him."

"Oh yeah, 'cause you have such high standards."

"Higher than that!"

"He's a really nice guy. Very polite. I don't know, but there's something about him that I just want to know more. He's kind of mysterious. I mean… more than any other new kid I've met."

"So he asked you out?"

"Yes! I loved it! I've never been asked out before! Isn't it great! I think he might be my B.F. or something!"

"B.F.?"

"Boyfriend," Monique confirmed.

"Oh, well, if you like him, Monique, then I'm not going to be against it. He's a nice guy."

"Did you guys like… kiss or anything?" Ron asked.

"No," Monique answered, blushing, "but I'm hoping. I don't think I've ever felt this way before. It's always the other girls that are going out on the dates, and I'm the one getting left behind."

"Monique, don't say that," Kim replied, "I'm happy for you and Nathan. I hope it works out."

---

Meanwhile, at Dr. Drakken's secret lair, the angry scientist was acting rather mad. Well, "mad" is a fungible term, and Drakken expresses his craziness by laughing and twirling in his chair.

"Shego, do you have any idea what just happened!" He asked joyously, "We actually got away! I know it doesn't happen often, but this is definitely cause for celebration! Shego?"

Drakken's attractive female fatale was off to the side, not really caring about what he had to say. She was busy rubbing iodine on the scratches given to her by Kim Possible. After dabbing the cotton swab on the wound, Shego would utter a small but audible "ow." It wasn't everyday that Kim got the best of her in a fight, and it wasn't everyday that Shego came home with cuts and bruises.

"Shego, are you listening?"

"No! For God's sake, I'm not! I have bigger problems than your stupid celebration! So, we got away. Big deal. You're not the one with eight open wounds!"

"There's some hypochloric methonine. It should help," Drakken consoled.

"Oh, I don't care about your stupid experiment chemicals either! I'm in pain!"

"Is there anything I can do?"

Shego frowned and growled, "You better pray that this Mercenary guy shows up or you're going to have more wounds than I've ever had in my life!"

Drakken winced and whimpered.

"Aw, you two make such a lovely couple," a voice shot from the shadows of the lair's entrance. Drakken and Shego whipped around to see who it was. Sure enough, it was Mercenary.

"I hear you've been wanting to hire me," he said.


	4. Act Three

Act Three

Drakken raised an eyebrow. "Shego, did you call Mercenary?"

"Don't worry about how I got my information," Mercenary replied before Shego could speak, "I go where the money is, that's all. Now, you've recently acquired five million dollars, which comes into my price range (although it's on the _cheap_ side.)"

Drakken grinned and Mercenary continued, "Is there something that you'd like me to do for you?"

"Yes, I have recently acquired five million dollars," Drakken said, "but I hear that you've recently acquired the Global Justice Kingston 5000x, which could prove quite valuable to me. I want it."

"Sorry, Drakken, the Kingston 5000x is worth much more than a simple five million. Bear in mind, I have other buyers killing each other over that simple memory stick. So, for you, it's not for sale."

Dr. Drakken growled with frustration that Mercenary would not sell him the Kingston 5000x. How dare that scoundrel disrespect Drakken so! Dr. Drakken had almost taken over the world on several occasions. Now, for Drakken, the keyword there was "several," but for Mercenary, the keyword was "almost."

"Fine. Shego, please take the Kingston 5000x from him."

"Uh… are you crazy? Wait, don't answer that. I can't fight him in my current condition! I just got back from a fight with Kim Possible!"

"Yeah, she can be quite a handful," Mercenary said.

"Oh, shut up! You haven't fought her as many times as I have!"

"True, but I'm betting that she beat your more times than she did me."

"Okay, that's it!" Shego screamed as she got to her feet and ran at Mercenary. He, however, was able to block her steaming hand attack when he activated his force-shields that were conveniently located on his forearm.

Shego struck and struck, but her fists didn't penetrate those red circular shields of light.

"What the heck are those!" she asked in a rather loud voice.

"Force-shields, I guess," Mercenary said, "they come in handy now and then. See, they're actually made of lasers, but can only cut through inorganic matter. To organic stuff, like skin, well, it just hurts a lot… like getting hit with a bat or something."

"Oh, cute," Shego said sarcastically. "Well, my attacks will hurt a lot more than those things!"

Mercenary's eyes narrowed as Shego lunged at him with her whole body, flying through the air like a missile. She missed because Mercenary had boosted into the air with his jetpack, another handy item. He then drew his twin pistols. He didn't fire just yet; he wanted Shego to notice the weapons first.

"And those things…" Shego said, "…are supposed to do what?"

"These pistols are only lethal when I want them to be. Any other time, they just subdue you. It takes several hits from them to knock you unconscious, but I trust them."

"Better hope your trigger finger is quicker than my reflexes!"

"Y'know, someone said that to me before, so I made some adjustments." Mercenary touched a tiny switch on the side of his pistols with either of his thumbs. Then he simply squeezed the trigger for a long time. A barrage of blue blasts exited the guns barrel. Shego deduced that Mercenary put in an "automatic" setting. Nice.

Though she was injured, Shego was able to perform several back-flips until Mercenary's blasts stopped raining down. All the while, Drakken was laughing to himself. He wanted to see Mercenary and Shego fight: he wanted to see how good Mercenary was, in comparison to Shego, at least.

Mercenary indulged Drakken more by continuing his skirmish with Shego. The female was more or less ticked at this point… because Mercenary was avoiding every one of her attacks. In her mind, she thought that it wasn't her fault, though. She had been injured; this wasn't a fair fight. Oh well, fair fights weren't her style.

Shego managed to get behind Mercenary and put him in some form of a locked position – where her arms came up and over his shoulders. Mercenary made several grunts and Shego chuckled. Her chest hurt a little bit, so the chuckling was too much. She had to cough instead. Then Mercenary struggled free.

"By the way, this suit I'm wearing… gives me enhanced strength."

Mercenary got out of the hold and put Shego in one. Then he shoved her to the ground and drew a pistol. He aimed at her head. Shego moaned as if she was about to pass out. Drakken clapped.

"Well done, Mercenary! You've proven quite formidable!"

"Oh shut up," Shego groaned, "I'm not exactly at one hundred percent."

"…And that's why I'm not going to finish you," Mercenary replied to her.

---

"Don't worry, Ms. Possible," Dr. Director said, "we're doing everything we can to get the Kingston 5000x back."

Kim and Ron were standing in the office of the head of Global Justice, Dr. Director, a very accomplished individual who never got stressed, but on this particular occasion, had reason to fret. Ron, by the way, was wearing a sling; his arm still hurt.

"Do you mind if I take a look around?" Kim asked, "I think I might find something."

"I'd appreciate it if you left as soon as possible," Dr. Director replied. "I don't need any help. The Kingston 5000x is very important to Global Justice, and I'm working as hard as I can to find a way to get it back."

"I understand. Well, Ron and I should go then."

Kim and Ron turned around and walked out of her office. As soon as the doors closed, Ron practically blurted something out to Kim, "Are you out of your mind, KP? This Global Justice place doesn't know how to track down villains like you do! You can't just let them kick you out!"

"You're right, Ron. I'm not leaving."

"What?" Ron said, bamboozled.

"I'm going to do some snooping."

"In a top secret facility?"

"Global Justice is too concerned with retrieving the Kingston 5000x. They'll never suspect if I take a look around to learn a little bit about it. Now, give me Rufus."

"Uh… why?"

"So I can have an excuse if someone asks me what I am doing," Kim answered. She signaled that Ron should go outside and wait by their ride. Kim wouldn't be long.

She slid along the wall and peered around the corner: no one there. She walked up to a door labeled "Research;" the door slid open. Lasers lined the hallway to the next room, but Kim Possible was too clever for that. With some simple and graceful cheerleading acrobatics, Kim was able to flip through without touching a single alarm laser.

The next door slid open and Kim entered. She was awestruck by what she saw: huge shelves of holographic books that held files on every single GJ case and villain. Kim jogged over to the bookcase labeled "K," which would have info on the Kingston 5000x, she supposed.

Kim climbed up the bookshelf. "K-I" was pretty high up there, but Kim made it. She moved her finger along the row of files under the tip of her index finger touched the one she was looking for. She snatched it out of its place and shimmied down the edge of the shelf.

The teen sleuth walked over casually to a computer that was at the base of the room, pretty much in the center. Kim inserted the file into an opening. The monitor flickered and came on. Thousands of coded numbers zipped across the screen, and Kim waited for something readable.

"Hmm," she said to herself softly, "a profile on every person in the world, all on one little memory stick. Looks like some of the files were deleted. Maybe some people didn't want to be found out. It's a scary thought: there's a group of spies out there that know everything about you."

Kim seemed as if she passed into some kind of a daze, but then she shook her self awake. She whipped out the kimmunicator, "Wade?"

"What's up, Kim?"

"I have the info here on the Kingston 5000x, everything that Dr. Director won't tell me."

"Think she feels guilty about invading everyone's privacy?"

"Probably. Look, is there anything from this file that I can use to locate the Kingston 5000x?"

"I doubt it," Wade said, "if there _was_ anything, Global Justice would have figured it out by now. Wait a second, here's something. The Kingston 5000x has a homing beacon."

Kim raised an eyebrow, "Why didn't Global Justice just activate that?"

"Mercenary disabled it. The homing beacon is really sealed off. Looks like Mercenary knew that Global Justice might try something like that, so he barred it from their hackers."

"But you're not one of _their_ hackers, Wade. Can _you_ crack it?"

"I don't know, Kim. This Mercenary guy really did his homework. There are layers upon layers of encryption, firewalls that block every vantage point, passwords that won't be broken for a hundred years, and… I'm in!"

Kim smirked and Wade took another sip of his soda. "I've got the homing beacon on GPS, sending coordinates to your kimmunicator. The signal is really strong now, but as you get into close proximity, it will shut down."

"Thanks, Wade."

---

Meanwhile at Drakken's semi-secret lair, Mercenary had made his points and pleased the evil doctor. For once, Drakken believed that he had a lackey, although he dare not refer to Mercenary like that, who could get the job done.

"Would you like a rematch, Shego?" Mercenary asked in a condescending tone.

"'Would you like a rematch?'" Shego mocked him in a nasal tone, obviously ticked off. "Oh, go shoot something. When I don't hurt so much, you'll wish you were never born."

"I must say, my dear lad Mercenary," Drakken said as he put a hand on the guy's shoulder, "not many people can defeat Shego. I will consider you and your services for assistance in my evil schemes."

"Just don't take too long." Mercenary said to him in a grim tone, "I've got other jobs to get to."

"Then why don't you take them?" Shego coughed.

"Do you want to hold that pretty little mouth of yours in your hand? Then I suggest you shut up."

Mercenary's eyes narrowed, and Shego grumbled to herself. Drakken grinned, "Ooh! I like your style!" He put his other hand on Mercenary's other shoulder. "Don't touch me," Mercenary shot.

Drakken drew back instantly and collected himself, "Ahem, do you have any experience in being someone's enforcer?"

Mercenary was about to answer, but something beeped from his utility belt. Drakken tried to listen in on what Mercenary muttered to himself, but heard nothing. Mercenary just started walking out the door. Drakken stood aghast.

Mercenary turned back to him just before exiting, "We'll talk later about my job. Keep the five million ready."


	5. Act Four

Act Four

"Thanks for the lift, Dr. Freeman."

"Kim, it's the least I can do after you saved me and my self-driving car from the clutches of Doctor Drakken," Freeman said on a monitor screen. He wasn't actually on the automated plane that carried Kim and Ron.

"No big," Kim replied, "I'm just glad I was able to pull off that K-turn when your car's automated guidance system fried."

There was a time a while back where Dr. Drakken had kidnapped the robotically renowned Dr. Freeman to make his destructobots smarter. Kim, who had previously failed her driving test, was given some confidence when Freeman's car with artificial intelligence coached her.

Anyway, what mattered now was the present. The automated plane descended low enough to where Kim and Ron could jump out with a parachute. Since Ron had a broken arm inside a sling, Kim had to hold on to him as she let loose her chute. They floated down softly.

The two spotted Mercenary's hideout: a small building on the edge of a cliff that outreached into the ocean. Normally, some spy-type music would be heard as Kim and Ron snuck up on this place. It was pretty dangerous, so such music could lighten the mood.

Kim was pretty sure that Mercenary's lair had special defense, so she took the necessary actions. She flipped over the bordering fence and slipped past the patrolling lasers. It was obvious that Mercenary spent some of the money he received for jobs. Kim did a cartwheel when the security cameras looked away, and she kicked the security power box.

Ron was now able to pass and accompany Kim. The heroine helped him climb into a large opening, and then Ron moved so that she could lead the way. Kim slid down the shaft and gracefully pushed open a window into a room. She dropped down, not making a sound.

After Kim helped Ron and Rufus through the same gap, she sent Rufus to go look for the Kingston 5000x. A naked mole rat would not only find it quicker, but slip past security systems more easily as well. Kim and Ron would also look, but they had to be more careful.

"You guys must be really clever," Mercenary said as he came out of the shadows. Suddenly, all the lights came on, and Kim and Ron were not only exposed, but they had to shield their eyes from the bright light.

"I told you that you weren't going to get away with this!" Kim said.

"Interesting. I wonder how you managed to crack my encryption on the Kingston 5000x's homing signal. Not even Global Justice could do that."

"I've got something that Global Justice doesn't."

"Is that so? Well, I'll tell you one thing, Kim Possible: both of us are used to winning streaks, but one of us is going to stop having them altogether. And that someone… is you."

"So not!" Kim said back as she charged at Mercenary with her fists raised. Kim made a successful punch to Mercenary's gut and then chest, knocking him over. Ron noted that Kim was rubbing her hand: something that she never did. Punching him must have hurt.

Mercenary was on the ground, but not for long. Before Kim knew it, he was back on his feet, apparently not injured at all. "My armor's pretty thick. If it can stop a bullet, I think it can take a punch."

Kim's moment of utter shock was intensified when Mercenary activated his two force-shields of red energy on his forearms. Kim saw his eyes narrow, and then he smacked her with one of them. She was sent soaring across the room and eventually crashed into a bunch of ammo boxes.

Just then, the naked mole rat, Rufus, returned with the Kingston 5000x. His little pink body jumped up and down as he chirped, "Here! Here! Boo-ya!" But Rufus's celebration was cut short when a blue blast of energy carried him into a wall. He dropped the Kingston 5000x.

"NO! RUFUS!" Ron cried out as he looked at his fallen pet to Mercenary's smoking gun barrel. Ron growled and charged Mercenary, screaming the naked mole rat's name. Mercenary easily dodged Ron's weak punches, and then he planted a firm kick into Ron's injured arm, making the freckled kid drop to the floor.

Mercenary walked away from Ron and picked up the Kingston 5000x. "I believe this is mine."

"You're gonna pay for that!" Kim said as she aimed a bazooka at Mercenary. He laughed.

"Are you serious? Do you even know how to use that thing? Go ahead, blow me away."

Kim gritted her teeth and changed her aim from Mercenary to the ceiling above him. In no less than a second, a missile from it hit the area Kim aimed at, and part of the roof caved in and fell on Mercenary. At the last second, though, he activated his force-shields.

The teen hero, Kim, breathed for a second before Mercenary burst through the rubble with his force-shields. His armor was barely scratched. He wasn't hurt, but he might be angry. "Clever girl!" Mercenary screamed as he shot a stream of flames at her from his right gauntlet.

She dodged just in time by firing her grappling gun at the other side of the room. The hook hit somewhere in the upper section of the wall, and Kim was soon yanked toward it, escaping the flame's wrath. Mercenary boosted into the air with his jetpack and tackled Kim before she got to her grapple's destination.

The two slammed onto the ground. Kim pushed Mercenary off her with her foot. He rolled sideways and then was on his feet again, pistols drawn.

"I'll get you for hurting Rufus," Kim said, glancing back at the rodent and then at Mercenary.

"Oh, what are you going to do? Spank me?"

"Rufus is a naked mole rat, and that's gross. But you gotta love him. And no one takes a cheap shot at him… not while I'm around!"

Kim's terse lecture was soon interrupted when Drakken and Shego flew in with their hover-pod. Mercenary raised an eyebrow, "What are _you guys_ doing here?"

Drakken had a stupefied look on his face, "Well, any chance I get to destroy Kim Possible is worth… um… chancing!"

Kim used this opportunity to strike out against Mercenary. She kneed him in the gut and shoved him into a heap of boxes. Then, she used her grapple gun (hair dryer) to pull a bunch of boxes down upon him. Meanwhile, Ron ran to Rufus and picked the little guy up.

"Don't worry, little buddy." He said as tears came to his eyes, "everything will be okay."

Kim looked over at Ron and her fallen comrade, and soon tears came to her eyes as well. She returned her gaze to the boxes that Mercenary was covered in. He was a monster disguised as a man, that's all Kim told herself. She pulled him out of the pile of crates and punched him in the face repeatedly.

"Shego, now's our chance! Get the Kingston 5000x!" Drakken commanded as he pointed to the silver memory stick that lay on the floor. Shego hopped out of the hover-pod and limped over to it.

Mercenary was now officially shaken out of his daze by Kim's continuous pounding. On the sixteenth punch, Mercenary grabbed Kim's fist, making her grunt. "That's enough," he said coldly. He picked up a wide-eyed Kim over his head and threw her at the wall. It made quite a loud thud.

Ron's eyes were now red hot with rage, and he picked a long-tube flamethrower. He yelled "Get away!" at Shego. She was forced to back-flip out of the way. Shego turned to Drakken and said, "I can't get to the Kingston! Kim's stupid sidekick is guarding it with flames!"

Drakken smacked himself in the face: a sign of frustration. Ron jogged over to Mercenary, and when he believed he was in range of the criminal, he said, "No one messes with the Rufus!" Ron squeezed the trigger as hard as he could and unleashed utter hell at Mercenary.

Mercenary's reflexes were too quick for Ron, and he had dodged to the right before the fire had even gotten to him. The fire, however, had reached Mercenary's ammo crates and was causing explosions and spreading throughout the room. Soon the area was hot and the air was red.

Flames were licking everywhere at every thing. Shego had to back up several feet from the Kingston 5000x and shield her eyes from the sparks and embers. Ron continued to use the flamethrower against Mercenary, who was now in a continuous movement of evasion.

When Mercenary was far enough ahead of Ron's attack, he whipped out a pistol. He aimed at his assailant and fired. One blast knocked the flamethrower out of Ron's hand and destroyed it. Then three blasts hit Ron in the chest and made him collapse. Mercenary grinned, but in noticing that the whole place was going to go, he looked back at Kim.

"Leave it, Shego! It's not good to us if it's fried!" Drakken shouted, safely hovering above the mess.

Kim was unconscious and surrounded by fire that was closing in. Her head rested on her arm and she lay on her side. Mercenary landed right beside her and picked her up. He boosted away from the fire and to a safer place.

Suddenly, GJ helicopters surrounded the area. About fifty Global Justice Operatives slid down ropes into the burning facility. Drakken bit his nails. Mercenary watched as the authorities arrived, and Kim came to. She noticed that Mercenary was holding her, lifted a foot, and pushed him hard with it. He sailed backwards into three large barrels that exploded when he hit them.

"_That_," Kim yelled, "was for the snide comments!"

"Kim Possible!" one of the GJ soldiers called, "Hurry! We have to get out of here! The whole place is going to blow!"

"Just a sec!" Kim called back. She saw that the Kingston 5000x was not burned even though it was amidst all that fire. She pulled off a sweet cheerleader's move of a cartwheel and two flips. She grabbed the memory stick's string band at the end of the first flip.

Global Justice People had picked up Ron Stoppable and Rufus and were carrying them away in medical helicopters. Kim soon joined the GJ forces, but looked back at the raging fire for a second. She wiped the sweat from her brow. Her eyes softened. The helicopters flew away.

Drakken and Shego were meanwhile hiding outside the facility, waiting to see if Mercenary would escape. After the GJ choppers were gone, Drakken looked a little depressed. He liked Mercenary; the guy could have made a great enforcer.

But Mercenary was not dead; he slowly arose from the flames that had covered the entire complex. Drakken practically jumped out his hover-pod at the sight of him. This guy was magnificent, thought Drakken, to survive such a situation! Shego, however, rolled her eyes. She could have gone without Mercenary.

"Don't worry," Mercenary said emotionlessly, seeing Drakken and Shego's expressions, "my suit is fireproof."

"Is there anything you _haven't_ thought of!" Drakken cheered.

"Just take me back to your secret lair or whatever. I need to reload my equipment."

---

"Kim Possible, on behalf of Global Justice, I thank you once again for helping us," Dr. Director said.

"It's no big," Kim said modestly, "I'm used to fires by now."

"So, um, Dr. Director?" a bandaged-up Ron Stoppable asked, "What are you going to do now?"

"Well, Mr. Stoppable, we're going to re-upload the Kingston 5000x and see if our boy Mercenary deleted anything. Y'know, run inventory on all the files."

"I don't know Mercenary that well, but I think that he wouldn't have gone snooping through the data card like that," Kim said. "He's not exactly an evil genius like Drakken."

---

"So you're not going to do anything?" Drakken asked Mercenary. "I mean, they got away with the Kingston 5000x!"

"No they didn't," Mercenary replied in a cold voice. "I knew that somehow they would track me to that hideout with that homing beacon. Somehow, they would find a way around my encryptions. So, I took some precautions."

Drakken was confused; Shego didn't care. Mercenary continued, "It's a fake Kingston 5000x. The real one is pretty safe, actually. This one is set to explode when it's inserted into a computer."

TO BE CONTINUED


	6. Prologue II

"For Hire" Part 2

Prologue

_The details are sketchy. I don't really remember what happened. My head hurts. It hurts a lot. There must have been an explosion. Recapping, I remember that Mercenary stole the Kingston 5000x. I got it back. Everybody was praising and thanking me._

_Then comes the part that I don't remember that well. Dr. Director wanted to scan the Kingston 5000x to see if any thing got deleted. She inserted it into a large Global Justice Computer. Seconds later, there was a loud noise and all I could see was black, even if I open my eyes._

_My head still hurts. I can taste blood in my mouth. I don't hear anything. Is Ron okay? He had a broken arm. If the explosion was big, I don't know if he survived. I don't even know if I am dead. I can feel something on top of me: something big; it feels like metal._

_The air is thick and humid. It's hot. I think my hand just touched fire. Wait, I can hear something now. It sounds like someone grunting. He must be in pain. No, it's not Ron, the voice is too deep. I still can't see anything except the color black. Where am I? What happened?_

In the aftermath of the explosion at Global Justice Headquarters, many were found dead. The entire place was burned to a crisp. One couldn't even tell if it was a center for national security. Everywhere you looked, you saw ash. Smoke and ash, that's all there was.

Kim Possible was barely conscious after the explosion. It had been an hour before any rescue teams arrived on the scene. There wasn't anyone to alert them: everyone was either dead or unconscious. Kim lay there on her back for over an hour. A large, metal chunk of the ceiling had pinned her down.

Though she couldn't see it, Kim's body was covered in blood. She had terrible cuts on her arm, chest, and stomach. Part of the skin on her legs and hips was burned too. It felt scabby. Kim's head was bloody as well, staining the floor and her hair.

She felt someone lift the large chunk off her and help her up. She strained her eyes to see who it was, but could not. "Ron?" she asked weakly. "No," a voice replied, "I'm Officer James T. Henderson, fire-fighter. Miss, do you remember anything?"

"I think… I remember… it hurts to talk."

"You'll be okay."

"Where's Ron? Ron Stoppable? He's a freckled kid with a broken arm and a naked mole rat."

"Oh, him? He's fine. They're getting everybody to medical. I'll get you there too."

For two hours, Kim couldn't see, but she could feel herself being passed around like a volley ball. She felt herself lay on a stretcher. She knew she was going quickly because she felt cold wind below against her face. Then Kim thought she was being loaded into an ambulance and driven away.

After what felt like days, Kim could finally see again. At first, it was only colors that she saw, then blobs, and finally all was clear. She sighed and smiled, happy that she was alive and okay. She learned later that Ron and Rufus were okay too.

"Miss," one of the medical doctors said, "you've got a couple of broken ribs, but other than that, you survived the explosion."

"No big," she replied with a smile, "I heal pretty fast. What about Ron?"

"He's got a bummed knee and will have to walk on crutches for a few days. He'll be fine too."

Kim exhaled. She was clothed in a hospital gown and lay on a white bed. After the doctor finished explaining the situation, he left, and Kim rested her head on the pillow. Then Dr. Director walked in.

Well, it's a bit of a stretch to say that she _walked_ in. One doesn't walk if they're in a wheel chair. The explosion had fractured both of Dr. Director's legs, but she would be back on her feet in two months. "How are you feeling, Ms. Possible?"

"Fine, thank you. Sorry about your legs."

"I'll heal."

"How many people survived?" Kim asked quietly.

"About twenty out of a hundred. The facility is completely demolished; we'll have to build a new one."

"It's Mercenary's fault. He must have switched the memory sticks or created a fake one."

"The explosion cost lives, Ms. Possible. Mercenary is responsible for those deaths. I am asking on behalf of the Global Justice organization that you bring him in. I think you're the only one who can."

Kim's eyes narrowed and she breathed, "Don't worry. I will."


	7. Act One II

Act One

Middleton High School… again.

It had been a couple weeks since the explosion at Global Justice Headquarters. Kim was pretty much 100 percent, but Ron wasn't doing so well. He limped along on crutches, nearly covered in bandages. Rufus was okay too, by those standards.

Kim and Ron saw two familiar faces leaning against the lockers. It was Monique and Nathan. Their heads were really close together, but they weren't kissing. Monique seemed to be whispering something to Nathan. He smiled and listened. Then, the two saw Kim and Ron.

"Kim! Ron! Are you guys okay!" Monique asked with concern. "You missed like a whole week of school!"

"I can get you any notes that you missed," Nathan said.

"Thanks, but that's okay. And we're okay." Kim replied, "Just had a little bit of trouble saving the world, that's all."

"What happened?" Nathan asked.

"Oh, Ron and I ran into this guy named Mercenary. We tried to get back this thing he stole, but it blew up in our faces, literally. Don't worry, though. It's no big."

Rufus piped up with, "Yep, yep. No big."

"Ron," Monique said at last, "You look terrible. Are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine," Ron said, forcing a smile, "it's not good to be in an explosion when you have a broken arm… y'know, the whole already-being-injured thing."

Nathan went up to Ron and Kim, "Well, you two look as if you need a break, so let me carry your books."

"Uh, thanks," Ron said. Kim nodded too. Nathan took their bookbags and any other stray textbooks that were slung under their arms and carried them into the classroom. Monique stayed behind.

"What exactly is the sitch between you and Nathan?" Kim inquired.

"We've gone out several times while you two were gone."

"So, he's there all the time? He never has to leave or anything?"

"Pretty much. Why?"

"Oh," Kim replied, blushing, "No reason, I guess."

"Well, Rufus and I are going to go thank this guy for all the niceness. Come on, buddy." Ron limped forward, using his crutches. Kim turned back to Monique.

"I just don't want you to get hurt," she said quietly. "I've had my share of boy experiences. Not all of them are easy."

"Relax, Kim. I'm fine. I'll be fine. Nathan is a really great guy. Hey, I've got an idea! Why don't you and Ron join us tonight? We're going to go to this Chinese restaurant. I'd love it if you came. You should get to know Nathan better."

Kim was uncomfortable. One could see it on her face. "Oh… I don't know…"

"If you don't want to, I understand," Monique said with a downcast expression.

"No, I want to. I could be fun, right? Sure, I'll go! Ron will come too!"

---

Hours later, the four (well, five if you count Rufus) went to a restaurant called Chun Lee's. It couldn't be more like the Orient. Paper lanterns lit the entire room, and customers had to sit on blankets rather than chairs. Rufus acted as if it was an adventure.

"I just love the food here!" Ron exclaimed, diving into his eggdrop soup. "Thanks again for inviting me," he said in a muffled voice (from the food.)

Kim smiled nervously, slightly embarrassed by Ron's lack of manners. Monique watched him stuff his face and giggled. Nathan didn't say anything. Rufus enjoyed the soup as if it were a swimming pool.

A waitress approached them and asked, "Are we ready to order?"

"Nathan, why don't you go first?" Monique said.

"Why me? Oh, alright. Um, let's see… I'll have the pork fried-rice and the sweat and sour chicken. Could the sweat and sour sauce be on the side, please? Thanks."

Nathan closed the menu and looked at Kim. She realized that she hadn't taken her eyes off him for a good five minutes and finally came to. Monique went next, "Um, I'll have the almond boneless chicken. Not too much, please. Like a small size or something."

Monique smiled and Nathan rolled his eyes: she and her small orders. "Um, Kim?"

"Oh, right. Um, I'll have the same thing." Kim heard herself say that rather quickly, and then giggled really immaturely afterwards. Nathan and Monique looked at her. Kim sunk deeper into her chair, embarrassed.

"And for you, sir?" the waitress asked Ron. He looked up at her, his chin dripping with soup.

"Well, it's no Bueno Nacho, but I'll have… three eggrolls, four bowls of white rice, another three bowls of this soup, some of those nice cookie-things you have…"

Then Rufus chirped, "Hey!"

"Oh, right," Ron said after acknowledging Rufus, "make that _six_ eggrolls."

Nathan and Monique looked at him with wide-eyes. Kim practically smacked herself in the face. Then Ron turned to all of them and asked, as if he had no idea what was going on, "What?"

When the food arrived, Kim was curious to see if Nathan was a messy eater like Ron. He was, but no more than Monique or Kim herself. She _did_ find it interesting that Nathan didn't use the sweat and sour sauce at all: he simply combined the dishes of pork fried-rice and the chicken together. It should make for an appetizing meal.

Kim wished she had thought of that, but she hadn't been to Chun Lee's Chinese Restaurant before. Nathan and Monique had finished, and Kim hadn't even touched her food. Ron had to ask, "Are you going to eat that, KP?" before she even realized that she had watched Nathan the entire time.

Out of the blue Monique wrapped her arms around Nathan's head and kissed him right there at the table. They didn't even bother to go get a room or anything! Kim's mouth dropped, and the food practically fell out her mouth. She watched them make out for a long time, until Ron nudged Kim and gave her a "you're-_staring_-at-him look." Kim blushed and when back to her eating.

_I can't have these thoughts!_ Kim thought to herself, _what about my friendship with Monique? If I feel something for her boyfriend, what will happen to her? She's my friend, my close friend! I can't… I won't do that to her! Why do I even look at Nathan! He's even not that good looking. Yeah, that's good, I'll go with that._

Suddenly, Nathan's cellphone rang. Kim was so relieved something jolted her back to reality. As Monique smiled and dabbed her mouth, Nathan reached into his pocket and pulled it out. He opened it up but didn't put it to his ear. It was pretty obvious that it was a text message or something.

Nathan closed the flip phone and put it away, "That can wait." He turned back to Monique and she attacked him with kisses, resuming where they left off. Kim had to cover her eyes to not stare at Nathan again, but luckily, her kimmunicator went off.

"Go, Wade," she said as she turned it on.

"Monkey Fist is back." Wade said, "He's been spotted at the museum."

"Stealing monkey paintings?"

"You got it."

"Great," Kim said and turned to Ron, "let's go."

"But what about the eggrolls?" Ron asked tearfully.

Kim rolled her eyes and pulled him out of his seat, "Come on!"

"We're going to stay here!" Monique and Nathan said together.


	8. Act Two II

Act Two

The two teen heroes tracked Monkey Fist to the Middleton Art Museum. They spotted him in the middle of pulling off a heist. Monkey Fist was googoo-eyed as he lifted a glass case off an old relic/artifact that looked like a silver coconut.

"With this relic of mystical monkey mastery," Monkey Fist said to himself, "I will be transformed into an actual monkey! I will be able to have the full monkey kung-fu experience!"

"I don't think so, Monkey Fist!" Kim Possible said as she dropped down near him. Monkey Fist gasped, "Kim Possible! What are you doing here!"

"Uh, stopping you? Duh."

"Well, I shall not be hindered from the ultimate monkey experience! Monkey ninjas attack!"

Immediately, six little monkeys, dressed in black pajamas (with their faces covered), flipped several times until they were between Kim and Monkey Fist. Ron screamed "Aaaaah! Monkey! Monkey, monkey, monkey! Waah nuzah callahmujahfrita!" And then he ran in circles, or rather, _limped_ in circles.

Kim readied her hands for the monkeys. One hopped on her shoulder and wrapped his tail around her neck. She immediately responded by grabbing the monkey's tail and throwing him (by the tail) into two of the other monkeys.

Now, three monkeys drew banana-shaped ninja stars. They hurled the sharp metal stars at Kim, but she dodged them easily as a result of her quick reflexes. She manages to snatch one of the flying sharp bananas in midair and fling it at a chandelier. It fell from the ceiling on top of all the monkeys. Kim brushed off her hands triumphantly.

Monkey Fist had meanwhile stolen the silver coconut and was making his getaway. He chuckled to himself, imitating a monkey, for he was already anxious to go from man to ape. His mental celebration was interrupted when a figure landed him front of him. Little did Monkey Fist know that this person would shatter his dreams.

"The museum is open for looting," Fist said to the person, "but be wary: Kim Possible and her monkey-phobic friend are not far. I've collected my prize. See?"

The person stepped into the light: it was Mercenary. "I'm not here for some artifact. I'm here for _you_."

"What?" Monkey Fist asked, his voice articulating his proper British accent more than usual, "Why?"

Kim ran down the hallway in pursuit of Monkey Fist. She didn't have to go far, because he came to her, practically afraid for his life. "Oh, please, Kim Possible," he begged, "save me from that lunatic with the white mask!"

"Dude, wouldn't it be totally beyond cool if Mercenary helped us capture Monkey Fist!" Ron whispered to Kim.

"Mercenary," she repeated coldly.

"You know him?" Monkey Fist asked.

"Yes. Monkey Fist, have you have been on unfriendly terms with Drakken?"

"Not recently. What are you talking about? Look, here's the relic I stole. I give it back! Nothing is worth it when my own life is at risk! Oh, I want a banana!"

Mercenary came around the corner and Monkey Fist whimpered even more. "Don't make me run after you," he said coldly.

"Go home, Mercenary," Kim said to him, "Monkey Fist surrendered. I'm handing him over to the authorities. You don't need to capture him."

Ron groaned and whined, "Why do _we_ have to help the monkey?"

Mercenary didn't say anything. He kept walking toward Kim and Fist. Kim felt a little uncomfortable. "Um, why does Drakken want Monkey Fist anyway?"

"Who ever said that Drakken wants Monkey Fist? I don't work for Drakken yet, Kim. Besides, even if I did, I would still take on specially ordered hunts."

"At least tell me who wants him."

"Sorry, confidential," Mercenary replied with a grim and determined tone, "but you can always _beat_ the information out of me."

"You've got some nerve, you know that? You blew up Global Justice Headquarters!"

"It wasn't personal, Kim," Mercenary said emotionlessly. "I just took some precautions. After I heard that the Great Kim Possible can do anything, I figured you'd find a way to track it, find it, and get it back."

Kim gritted her teeth and charged at Mercenary. The hunter boosted into the air, and Kim didn't tackle any thing but air. Mercenary didn't laugh when he drew a pistol. He set the mode for "automatic" and squeezed the trigger. He didn't even need to release it and pull again: blasts came out instantly and rapidly.

The heroine gasped and somersaulted several times until she had found cover behind glassed-off artifacts. Mercenary ceased firing when she was out of range. Kim pulled out her kimmunicator.

"Wade, I need some help."

"All right, check your backpack."

Kim took it off and was about to open it, but Mercenary discovered her location. Kim had to quickly stuff it all away and sprint to the other side of the room to avoid Mercenary's attacks. "Wade, I need to make this _quick_."

"Okay, okay," Wade said on the kimmunicator. "The first item is a glove and boomerang."

"Great, if I knew how to throw a boomerang."

"You don't have to. The boomerang is electromagnetically linked to the glove. Throw it and it will come back to you wherever you are."

"You rock, Wade," Kim said with a smile as she quickly slipped on the glove.

"Eh, that's not all. Put on the glove and point with your index finger."

As soon as she did, a thin red laser shot out of the tip. It wasn't harmful, more like the ones that are put on sniper rifles.

"Point to a target and the laser will lock the boomerang on it. Then just throw the boomerang and watch the show."

"Wade, do you seriously know how much you rock?"

"I try," he said meekly, rubbing the back of his neck.

Kim peeked out from her hiding spot and pointed at Mercenary. He looked down at his chest and saw a little red dot appear there. When nothing happened, he looked back at Kim and gave her an are-you-serious look. Kim grinned, tossed the boomerang into the air, and took off on foot.

Mercenary made to follow her, but the boomerang hit him smack in the face. His whole body was forced to do a backwards flip, and his chin hit the ground hard. Mercenary groaned as he got up. The boomerang was flying around for another pass. Mercenary activated his two force-shields and smacked the boomerang away as soon as it got close.

The flying weapon wobbled in midair then came to a crashing halt in a wall. The hunter turned back to the area that Kim had gone, and he went down that way as well. Monkey Fist was on his hands and knees, begging for mercy. Kim walked up to him and said, "It's all right. Let's go, Monkey Fist."

The monkey man whimpered and, once he saw that Kim was alone, got up slowly to join her. She had an expression that was both compassionate and firm. Monkey Fist might be somebody's prey, but he still just tried to steal something. That doesn't mean he's off the hook. Anyway, Kim wasn't able to comprehend much about the situation because she suddenly lost the ability to breathe.

There was a tight pulling on her neck, and Kim reached to feel what it was. The thing felt like some kind of whipcord. She was abruptly yanked off her feet and was being pulled through the air. Kim looked around and saw that Mercenary was pulling her around by a cord that came out of his left gauntlet. Everything was going black: she was losing consciousness.

"Hang on, KP!" Ron said as he threw one of his crutches at the flying Mercenary, who simply smacked it away. Ron turned to Rufus. "You're up, buddy! Bring this bad boy down!" Rufus nodded, and Ron threw him at Mercenary. The naked mole rat landed on his shoulder and bit into his neck. "Aaaargh!" Mercenary cried out in pain.

Now, Mercenary was officially angry with that little rodent. He grabbed Rufus fiercely and squeezed. The little guy looked like his eyes were about to pop out. But before that could happen, Mercenary chucked Rufus across the room. Kim had now untied the whipcord that was around her neck, and she was ready for action.

Mercenary had descended back down to the floor, and Kim was already engaging him. The two exchanged and blocked each other's punches and kicks (Kim being the more agile of the two). Mercenary finally ducked down and boosted with his jetpack: he was thrust forward and rammed Kim Possible in the chest and stomach. Mercenary drove her through a glass door and into the next room.

When Mercenary rose afterwards, Kim lay still, as if sleeping. Ron and a dazed Rufus were already at her side as Mercenary walked away and prepared to get what he came for. Monkey Fist was in a corner, curled up in the fetal position, whimpering. "Oh, please, good sir, leave me be. I have done you no harm! I am but a humble monkey man!"

"Relax," Mercenary said grimly, "I'm not going to kill you. You're worth more alive."

Monkey Fist winced when Mercenary aimed his left gauntlet and fired a ball that exploded into a tie-up from shoulder to knee at the monkey man. Ron helped Kim to her feet, and she staggered out into the same hallway that Mercenary was carrying away Monkey Fist.

"You better hope you're more prepared when I go after the President of the United States," Mercenary said to Kim and Ron, his voice echoing in the hall.

"Is that all you care about!" She shouted to him. "Money?"

Mercenary didn't answer. Ron turned to Kim, who held her head in pain. "Maybe this isn't so bad," he said, "I mean, Mercenary _did_ help us capture Monkey Fist, who is like the freakiest freak of nature around!"

"That's not the point, Ron. I wish I could trust guys like Mercenary, but I don't know what side he's on. It kinda scares me. Oh, it doesn't matter: he just told us who he's going to strike next…"

"The President?"

Kim sighed and confirmed by saying, "The President."


	9. Act Three II

Act Three

"Okay, recap." Kim said as she rubbed her head from frustration, "A new villain called Mercenary steals the Kingston 5000x from Global Justice. This device has files on practically every person on the planet. Then, Dr. Drakken steals five million plus from the United States Mint, probably to hire Mercenary, who has just captured Monkey Fist, although I don't think that Monkey Fist has anything to do with this plot at all."

"And now," Ron said, continuing Kim's recap, "Mercenary said that he's going to hunt the President. Uh, KP? I know I'm not the best plot decoder person, but this really doesn't make any sense."

Kim Possible informed the United States President about the situation almost immediately. It was quite a shock that Mercenary mentioned the President as the next target. Kim assured him that she would personally be around to protect him from Mercenary.

The White House's alarms were blazing and the security forces were afoot. No one was getting in this way. As Kim watched several camouflage-clad men patrolling the perimeters, she couldn't help but wonder: was this an assassination, and why would Mercenary want to kill the President? The answer to that question was simple: money.

As far as Kim was concerned, it didn't matter who was Mercenary's target; he would hunt anyone if the price was right. Ron, however, had an uneasy feeling about this whole situation. "Seriously, KP," he said to her, "I think you're getting way too paranoid. Wade is already scanning the area for Mercenary's body signature. So far, there's nothing."

"That's exactly what Mercenary _wants_ us to think! I underestimated him once before, and people died. Remember what happened with the Global Justice Headquarters? He wants us to _think_ that there's nothing wrong because he hasn't shown up yet, then he'll strike! Mercenary will catch us when we least expect it."

Five hours later, Kim was pacing up and down the White House corridors and practically pulling out her hair. She made regular checks on the President's welfare, and even some to see if it was the real President. Why hadn't Mercenary attacked yet? Kim was totally paranoid.

"This Mercenary guy is driving you nuts, Kim," Ron told her. "He isn't going to show."

"You're wrong!" She exclaimed, "He… I won't let him surprise me again! This guy is sick enough to make us wait, but I'll hold out!"

Ron decided that if Kim wanted to remain vigilant forever, that's her issue. He, on the other hand, was going to hit the nearest Bueno Nacho. Ron returned to see Kim wide awake and hyped-up on caffeine. She almost jumped when she saw Ron, and again when her Kimmunicator went off. It was Wade.

"Sorry, Kim, Mercenary isn't going to show."

"How do you know that?"

"Well, he can't be in two places at once, and I just received word that he hit a major technology outpost. He stole some kind of state-of-the-art circuit board."

Ron put his hand on Kim's shoulder, "Let's go home."

---

Mercenary's one-man silver jet soared through the air, until it reached its destination: Dr. Drakken's hideaway. Drakken's lairs were notorious for being blatantly obvious, and this volcanic lair was no different. The words "Evil Lair" were carved on the side of the mountain, so it wasn't difficult for Mercenary to spot.

A large hatchway opened, and the jet flew through it and into a tunnel. Mercenary piloted his craft into Drakken's hangar bay, and the good doctor was there awaiting his arrival. "Ah-ha!" Drakken burst out as Mercenary exited his jet, "You have it, then?" Mercenary held up a circuit board.

Drakken jumped up and down, ecstatic. "Oh! At last, my plans for world domination will be realized! With this top secret circuit board, my new death machine will work faster than ever before!"

"Great," Mercenary replied, "but before I hand this to you, I want my money."

"What? Five million dollars does not qualify for the work you put in. Absolutely not!" Drakken reached for the circuit board, but Mercenary pulled it away. "Ah-ah-ah," the hunter said, "the money first."

Drakken grumbled and reached for the technology again and again, but Mercenary kept it away. "Aah! Give me the technology!" Drakken screamed. Mercenary backed away and looked as if he was about to rip the circuit board in two. "This is how I do business, Dr. Drakken. Either you give me five million for my services, meaning this device, or I break it in two."

The blue man whimpered and, seeing that Mercenary was serious, pulled out an envelope. Inside was a check with the amount that Mercenary wanted. He slowly held it out to Mercenary, who then handed the circuit board to Drakken. "Now," Mercenary said, "it was a pleasure doing business with you."

"There's more where that came from," Drakken said with a grin. "If you become my regular enforcer, I'll see that you'll be paid most handsomely."

"What about your _other_ enforcer, the henchwoman?"

Drakken didn't answer; he only walked away giggling to himself as he fingered his new toy, the circuit board. Mercenary stood there with his arms folded, watching Drakken walk away. He was content. Just then, Shego appeared out of the shadows.

She dropped down right in front of Mercenary, clearly upset with a certain change in events. "Looks like your boss likes me better than you, Shego," Mercenary said with a small hint of cruelty in his voice. "Don't feel bad, most people do. I'm better at my job than you are."

"I'd watch it if I were you, sport!" She growled, approaching him. "I'm back at full strength now, so if you want to fight me, don't think you'll win."

Shego then made to attack Mercenary. Her hands steamed with green plasma, and she was ready to go. Shego charged and struck several times, but Mercenary was also ready, and he activated his wrist force-shields. They blocked every one of Shego's attacks.

She groaned and supercharged her fists with even more green plasma. Mercenary took this as a sign of danger and boosted upwards with his jetpack. Shego grinned and fired a huge stream of plasma at Mercenary. His force-shield was positioned just right, so the attack didn't harm him. Instead, it pushed him backwards into a wall, where he was supposedly pinned.

Shego kept up the assault, banking on the fact that Mercenary's shield would eventually power down. She took one step at a time, pushing more and more energy at Mercenary. It flowed right out of her hand. Mercenary's left hand spun his pistol out of its holster, took aim, and lay on the trigger. It was set for automatic, so a barrage of blue blasts were now about to make Shego's life a lot more painful.

She gasped and relinquished her plasma, doing a sideways-backflip to evade the many pistol shots that sought to hurt her. Shego found safe haven behind a forklift that moved heavy items in the hangar bay. Charging green plasma on each of her fingertips, Shego jumped out from behind her cover and threw ten balls of plasma at Mercenary.

Each of the balls missed because Mercenary was flying around them. Shego thrust her hand upwards at him, and Mercenary spread his legs so that the plasma ray would go right between them. He then reached into one of the square, white, plastic pouches on his utility belt. Mercenary produced six small gray marbles.

He dropped them on top of Shego. As soon as they hit the ground, each exploded, causing Shego to be launched in several different directions. When the last one of the marbles had done its work, Mercenary whipped out a pistol and shot Shego several times as she sailed through the air. When she skidded off the ground, he stopped.

Shego staggered to her feet, injured yet again. However, this time she would not be defeated so easily, not again! A few blasts from a pistol were certainly not enough to bring down the great Shego! She would not have any of it. Shego moved toward Mercenary in a cartwheel-type motion: flipping, as it were, from palms to soles and again.

She eventually got to him and landed her two feet into his chest, although they were sideways. Mercenary grunted as Shego's kick shoved him a few feet across the room. This attack made him drop his pistol, and that sign was all Shego needed. She ran at Mercenary in a fury, engaging him in martial combat.

She punched Mercenary four times in different places. Upon the fourth, she was not allowed to perform that move any more because Mercenary caught the punch and countered by elbowing Shego in the face. She instead swung her leg around in a roundhouse motion, hoping to trip him. Mercenary was hit, but he thrust his foot into Shego's stomach as soon as her leg hit his hip.

The kick to her stomach made Shego cough a bit and back up. She wasn't out of breath, but Mercenary had knocked the wind out of her. Shego was confident, however, that he wouldn't be attacking any time soon, because her poundings had to have left some impression. That's where Shego was wrong: they didn't.

Before Shego could react, Mercenary was flying at her and rammed her hard with his shoulder. Shego cried out in pain as she soared into several of Drakken's go-carts (for getting around the secret lair.) Then she felt a sharp pain in her neck and touched it. Shego pulled out a small dart that was driven hard into it.

She looked up at Mercenary, who had his left gauntlet raised. "I just pumped you full of poison," he explained, "and in a few seconds, you'll be paralyzed. In twenty minutes, you'll be dead." Shego was on her knees, struggling for air. Mercenary walked up to her; he held up a small vial.

"This is the antidote," he said calmly as Shego collapsed. Her eyes were still open, and she was still listening. "If you can muster the strength, you can reach it and save yourself," he went on as he set the vial down near her. "_I_ could reach it, because my will is strong. But you won't, Shego, because you're not me."

Mercenary stood up and walked away. A small tear formed in Shego's eye.

---

Kim and Ron returned to Middleton High School tired and defeated, figuratively speaking, of course. As Kim was about to open her locker, she spotted Monique and Nathan making out. At first, she was sort of disgusted, but then she couldn't take her eyes off the two of them. Ron and Rufus actually had to tug on her sleeve to get her back to reality.

She had noticed Monique and Nathan a lot nowadays, and the two definitely did an awful lot of kissing. Kim was jealous of Monique, but also happy for her too. Not many guys went for Monique, so Kim was glad that one guy did. But it was a weird feeling that Kim had: not so much that Monique had a boyfriend, but that Kim should be dating Nathan instead.

After a while, Kim couldn't stand it anymore. She had to talk to somebody. So, she did. Kim walked into her living room wearing a blue, sleeveless sweatshirt and brown pants. Her dad, Dr. James Timothy Possible, was sitting on the couch, sipping some coffee and browsing through "The Examiner" newspaper.

"Dad," Kim said feebly, "is Mom around?"

"Sorry, Kimmy-cub, your mom's still at work. She isn't going to be home until late, I'm afraid. What's on your mind? Maybe I can help."

"Oh, that's okay. It's about… boys, again."

Dr. Possible stroked his chin with concern, "Well, I know that your mom is the expert on that subject: which explains why you wanted to speak with her. But, by john, I'm your father, and I should be able to help."

Kim sat on the floor in the lotus position. It wasn't everyday that she spoke to her father about boys, but she should say something. Kim took a deep breath, "Dad, is it okay if you have feelings for your best friend's boyfriend? Oh god, that came out all wrong!"

"Kimmy, I'm not sure if I follow you."

"Um, okay, let me try to explain this better. Monique and I are really close friends, okay, and there's this new kid who just moved here about a month or so ago. He and Monique are like totally dating…"

"And you like this boy too?" Kim's dad inquired.

"Well, I didn't at first, but it's sorta… like… I don't know. I just couldn't believe that someone asked Monique out before me. I mean, Monique's pretty and all, but I'm the more popular one, shouldn't the boy have asked me out first?"

"Has Monique ever had a boyfriend?"

"Well… no, not really."

"And you think it's wrong for Monique to be happy?"

"No! God no! I didn't say that, did I?" Kim's face suddenly dropped, and her expression was downcast.

"Kimmy," Dr. Possible said to her kindly, "I'm sure whatever you're feeling for this boy is there for a reason, but if he is happy with Monique, you cannot interfere. You might just be feeling this way because Monique is dating and you're not, right? Is it just because of this boy or because of Monique dating at all?"

"I don't know, Dad. I really don't know. When I see Monique kissing him, I wish it were me there instead. I can't tell if that's me wanting Monique to be unhappy or me wanting to be with that boy."

"Well, from my experience, I can tell you this," he replied, "that what you're feeling may be either nothing or the beginnings of a great relationship. It is what draws people like your mother and me together. It is your need to love and be loved. Next time you see Monique and this boy together, think if there is anything between them, or if this fling they have is simply the _ideology_ of a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship."

Kim got up and hugged her dad. "Thanks," she whispered.

As she walked away, Dr. Possible smiled at his daughter. "No big," he replied.


	10. Act Four II

Act Four

Kim had hit an all-time low on the depression scale. Sure, her dad cheered her up with the whole heart-to-heart talk, but in truth, Kim didn't feel any better. She felt terrible for wanting Monique and Nathan not to be together. But she felt even worse because she didn't know how to explain her feelings.

What was it exactly that she saw in Nathan? It couldn't have been a physical attraction, that's for sure. Nathan was like cute, but definitely not a "hottie." Why did that even matter? Of course, this is high school, stuff like that always matters. Kim would grumble to herself, "jelling" because she wasn't even sure that Monique liked Nathan. Kim thought Monique was dating him because for once someone asked her out.

Anyway, Kim's paranoia about the President's would-be assassination awakened, and she checked on her kimmunicator to see if he was all right. A strange thing happened, though, because as soon as Kim whipped out her kimmunicator and hit the speed dial for Wade (if there was a speed dial for anything else), she wasn't met by Wade.

"Good morning, Kim," Mercenary said.

"How did you get this frequency!" Kim asked in a rather demanding tone.

"You have a website, don't you? It wasn't hard once I got there. Oh, and relax, I didn't do anything to your little cyber-helper."

Kim sighed, and then she frowned, "So, did you forget about your little hunt on the President?"

"What hunt?" Mercenary responded.

"You told me that your next target was the President… of the United States."

"I lied."

Kim gritted her teeth. She was really angry now. "WHY!"

"I needed you to be preoccupied, Kim," explained Mercenary, "so that I could steal something without… interference. I might go after the President someday, though. It's an interesting thought."

Kim's eyes were blazing. This guy had made her into a stressed maniac, a nervous wreck, and a fool all at the same time. She remembered her promise to Dr. Director: she would get Mercenary. What was worse, Kim thought, was that Mercenary was _enjoying_ this. She could tell that he was smiling under that mask.

"Just thought you'd like to know," Mercenary said softly. And with that, the screen went black.

Kim pressed a few buttons and then said, "Wade."

"You want me to trace the call so you can go after Mercenary at Drakken's fortress?" he asked.

"Please and thank you," Kim replied with a small, forced smile.

---

The teen heroine approached the "secret" lair that Wade had traced Mercenary's call to. It was, unsurprisingly, inside a volcano. Kim sighed, because this motif had been done like a thousand times by villains and was now officially tradition.

Contrary to her decisions in the past, Kim had thought best that Ron sit this one out. He had been injured enough over the last couple of days (and/or weeks). He needed time to recover. It didn't matter: Kim was determined enough to do this on her own. Still, she wished her best friend could accompany her.

Kim inched her way up the side of the volcano, looking for some means of entrance. They were usually easy to spot: Drakken wasn't too bright in this department. The mad scientist had supposed that the molten hot lava would be enough, and there would be no need for security measures. For the most part, he was right.

She, on the other hand, could do anything, and at this particular occasion, was set to strengthen that statement. Kim pressed a small button on the heel of her shoe, activating her "rocket skates," another ingenious invention created by the one-and-only Wade. Kim boosted forward at quite a remarkable speed, hopping over ash and boulders, along with lava streams.

Kim spotted an exhaust value in the side of the volcano – definitely not a natural thing. However, she was already passed it when she saw it, so Kim was forced to whip out her grapple hair dryer and fire a hook at the value. With the correct amount of grace and agility, Kim timed her move perfectly. The grapple yanked her inside just after the exhaust gusted out.

So there she was, sliding down the tube into Drakken's lair, not sure whether to hope for henchmen or not. Usually, being subtle was her first priority, but in this case, she simply wanted someone to pound on.

Meanwhile, Drakken had an eye for Kim Possible at this point, so he noticed her when she sped passed one of the security cameras. After a few seconds of grumbling (because Kim always upset his plans), he turned to Mercenary and said, "Mercenary, take care of her."

Kim ran down a dark hallway, but suddenly, the lights came on. As Ron would say, this seems pretty "trappish." Ignoring that "trappish" is not a word, Kim knew that it was time for a confrontation. Mercenary appeared when a door slid open. He seemed cold, in a ruthless sense: fearless.

"How on Earth did you manage to find this place, Kim?" Mercenary asked sarcastically.

"Cut it out, Mercenary. I won't be fooled again."

"You keep playing into my hand," he said to her, "first you listened to me when I told you about my 'scheme' for the President, now you traced my call just like I wanted."

"This is so annoying!" Kim shouted back and readied herself for attack. She engaged Mercenary, who was simply standing there. He hadn't moved his hands or anything. When Kim threw a punch at him, Mercenary's jetpack carried him into the air and backwards.

Then Kim whipped out the boomerang that Wade had made for her. She pointed at Mercenary and a small red dot appeared on his chest. Next, she threw the boomerang, and it flew at him with incredible velocity. Mercenary activated his force-shields and blocked when the boomerang came at him, making it bounce off.

The boomerang continued its assault after the first strike. It circled Mercenary in midair, and then came at him unexpectedly. It was almost as if the boomerang had a mind of its own. Kim smirked, "Guess that should keep you busy for a while."

Mercenary looked at her, "Don't be so sure." He pointed his arm at the boomerang when it came around for another pass. The force-shield that was on his wrist suddenly slid off it and was shot at the boomerang! Mercenary used his force-shield as a projectile! Kim stood there in utter shock as the red disc sliced through the inorganic matter of Wade's boomerang.

The force-shield disappeared shortly after. A brand new force-shield sprouted from Mercenary's wrist, showing Kim that he wasn't out of ideas yet. Kim Possible mustered up what wind she had left and ran up the wall. She sprung off it and at Mercenary, hoping to land some sort of air kick. Mercenary, however, grabbed her foot before she could land the blow.

He struggled with her there, in midair, for a few seconds. Kim pulled, trying to get her leg free, not really thinking that she was twenty feet off the ground. Mercenary was stronger, though, because his battle suit enhanced his strength ten-fold. He tossed Kim across the room, but she was able to land gracefully and without injury.

Mercenary didn't waste any time: he spun his blasters out of their holsters and fired several shots at Kim. His setting was currently on automatic, so all Mercenary needed to do was hold down the trigger. Blue bolts rained down on Kim Possible, and she sprinted to the right for some cover. She finally found it behind several large metal crates.

Kim hadn't a moment to lose; Mercenary could think of anything, and she had to think quicker. She pulled out her grapple hair dryer and fastened another hook to be fired. Then she peeked out from behind her cover and shot it. The grapple sailed too quickly for Mercenary to react, and the rope wrapped around him before he knew what was going on.

Mercenary soon felt himself being yanked down to the ground. He hit it hard and was soon overtaken by Kim. She ran up to him and kicked him in the face. Then she made to knock him out with a head butt. But when she touched his shoulders, an electric current ran up her arm and shocked her intensely. Kim was shoved back by the voltage.

Not seeing things clearly and in a daze, Kim stumbled to her feet. The electricity must have been some kind of defense measure Mercenary had in case people were to touch him. Not bad, Kim thought. When she finally regained her sight, Kim lost it again because she saw Mercenary launch a force-shield at her, and it hit her square in the face.

After that, she was unconscious. Mercenary had already removed Kim's grapple rope from his person and was now prepared to take his prize to Drakken. He picked up Kim's limp body and slung her over his shoulder, walking into the doctor's main laboratory. Drakken was, obviously, trilled to see Kim Possible in such a state. His eyes were wide as the sea, so to speak.

"You… you _defeated_ Kim Possible! THIS IS HUGE!" he exclaimed to Mercenary.

"That reputation of mine doesn't maintain itself," Mercenary replied. He glanced over at Shego, who was leaning against the wall, frowning and with her arms folded. She scowled at Mercenary.

Kim awoke minutes later bound to a large rock column. Drakken was having a hysteria as he waited eagerly for his arch-foe to wake up so that he could reveal his "master plan" to her.

"Ah-ha!" Drakken voiced upon seeing Kim's eyes open, "So, you are awake, are you? Well, I'm glad, because you're just in time for me to tell you all about how you're going to die!"

Mercenary rolled his eyes and shook his head. Shego did something similar.

"What is it this time, Drakken?" Kim asked in a tired voice.

"I'll tell you what it is, Kim Possible! It… is… your…"

"…doom?" Kim finished.

"I-I wasn't going to say that! Okay, maybe I was, but it doesn't matter." He gestured to a large, mechanical scorpion behind him. "BEHOLD! The Drako-Bot 9000!"

"Drako-Bot 9000? It looks like a giant scorpion."

"Yeah, it totally does," Mercenary added.

"Uh…" Drakken didn't know how to respond to their statements, so he went on, "using the ultra technological circuit board, provided by Mercenary, I was finally able to activate this with a processor that could… _process_ it fast enough!"

"No big," Kim replied, still tied up, "it's a metal scorpion. The worst it can do is shoot a death ray from its tail."

"Er, how did you know that? Um… NEVERMIND! You, Kim Possible, will face the Drako-Bot 9000, and I assure you… you will not win!"

Kim's bindings were suddenly loosened, and the Drako-Bot 9000 was activated, making a loud, echoing hum. The floor that the two stood on descended, becoming something like an arena for Drakken to observe. He laughed evilly.

Kim's eyes narrowed. Seriously, this was no big. I mean, the scorpion was big, but the situation wasn't. The Drako-Bot 9000 did exactly as Kim predicted: it raised its tail, charged, and fired a huge beam of energy at her. Kim jumped and performed a sideways spin, avoiding the blast.

She then ran and kicked one of the Drako-Bot's legs, making it stagger for a second. The tail's laser went off, and the blast almost fried Drakken! Kim hopped on top of the Drako-Bot and sat on the head. She tried to grab it in such a way that would let her have control of it, but to no avail. The tail repositioned to where it was pointing at Kim. The cheerleader grinned, "That's right. Shoot your own head."

However, it did not. Instead, one of the scorpion's metallic claws came up and snatched Kim, surprising her. She gasped as it did, and she tried to get free. The claw held her in front of the Drako-Bot's face, and the other claw transformed into a large buzz saw. Kim began to sweat as the blade drew closer and closer.

Then she had an idea. Kim clicked her heels together and activated her rocket skates. The force from them pushed her out of the claw's grasp. Drakken groaned in frustration, "Grr! Why can't she just lose for once! Mercenary, finish her off!" But then Shego touched his shoulder and said, "Relax, sport. Let your invention do the work." He whimpered and replied, "But I want Mercenary to!"

Suddenly, a gigantic hole in the side of the volcano was formed. Dozens of Global Justice helicopters flew in. Drakken screamed and turned to Mercenary saying, "Attack!" Mercenary boosted upwards and drew his pistols, as if to start assaulting them. However, he abruptly turned away, touched his temple (as if receiving a call), and nodded. Much to Drakken's surprise, Mercenary descended down into the arena with Kim.

Activating his force-shields, Mercenary started making slashes at the Drako-Bot 9000, cutting off its claws and legs.

"What you doing!" Drakken cried out in confusion.

"Sorry, Drakken, but I'm not working for _you_ anymore!" Mercenary responded as he sliced off the scorpion's tail.

He then jet jumped on top of the robot's head and, crouching down, used his force-shields to behead it.

Meanwhile, GJ operatives covered the entire facility, rounding up Drakken's henchmen. Shego had managed to hop on one of Drakken's flying motorcycles and take the back way out. Drakken himself, however, was not so fortunate. He was handcuffed by Dr. Director herself and led to a transport.

Dr. Director turned to Mercenary as he helped Kim out of the pit-like arena. "So, Mercenary, do we have a deal?"

He reached to his utility belt and produced the real Kingston 5000x. "The price is right," he said. Mercenary tossed it to her.

The head of Global Justice smirked, looked at the memory stick, and returned to her helicopter. Kim couldn't understand what was going on, "What? She's not going to arrest you!"

"We had an arrangement," Mercenary explained. "In exchange for the Kingston 5000x and being let off the hook, I would let them follow you to Drakken's lair. Remember the call you traced? I knew Wade would be smart enough to send to help as well, which was just was Global Justice wanted."

"So this whole thing… was just a ploy to get more money!"

"That's right. No one in particular asked for the Kingston 5000x, Kim, but I knew that Global Justice would want it back. And, they would be willing to pay an astronomical price for it once they realized that the Great Kim Possible couldn't retrieve it. I taught them a lesson with the explosion."

Kim lowered her eyes. It was true: GJ would rather pay Mercenary whatever he wanted than risk more casualties.

"Drakken," Mercenary continued, "was a smaller payoff. I simply came to him for a quick five million. Global Justice paid me even more to help you and fight against him, but only when they gave the signal."

"So… whose side are you really on?"

Mercenary didn't answer right away, but after a few long seconds, he finally said, "Mine."

Kim smiled, surprisingly. "You're smarter than I gave you credit for," she admitted. "I'll never underestimate you again."

"Atta girl," he replied.

Mercenary gave Kim a single wave and rocketed himself into the night, leaving her with more questions about a villain than she had ever had before.

---

Ron Stoppable and Rufus were happily snacking on their nacos, the combination of a nacho and a taco (Ron's creation). Rufus played a little bit with the diablo sauce, drawing battle paint all over his naked rodent face. Ron chuckled at that. Fortunately, he was feeling better.

Kim walked in to Bueno Nacho wearing a long-sleeved maroon shirt and tight sweat pants. She noticed Ron and Rufus and sat down next to them. "So, KP," Ron said with a mouth full of tortilla chips and cheese, "how'd the mission go? Did you catch that Mercenary guy or what?"

"I can't figure it, Ron. He just stopped working for Drakken and started helping me. Apparently, Global Justice had the higher bid."

"Mmmph, y'know, that's the mmmph thing with mmmph these big time hired gun dudes. They're like totally running up the mmmph bill on everything." Ron finished chewing and swallowed. Kim was glad: for a while there, it was hard to understand Ron because of the food in his mouth, chewing as he spoke.

"Yeah," Kim replied vaguely to whatever Ron said. "Anyway, it turned out to be a better sitch than I thought. That was seriously one bad day."

"One bad _week_," Ron added. Then something caught his eye, or rather, some_one_. Monique was alone outside Bueno Nacho, sitting on the bench, in tears. Kim gasped when she saw Monique. She recognized that emotion, and she remembered what her dad said.

Nathan and Monique broke up.

THE END

Next Story: "Lost Cause"

A/N: If you have finished reading this, I congratulate you! I hope you enjoyed it. My sincerest apologies for the rather inconclusive and poorly written ending, but "For Hire" wasn't meant to be a show stopper. The main purpose of this two-parter was to introduce Mercenary as the newest Kim Possible villain and give a glimpse at how ruthless he can be. Of course, there were some other glimpses in the story too, but I don't have to go into them. I thank you all once again for taking the time to read this, and I would like to know if I should continue with another Mercenary story.

PS- Sorry about the "no links" thing, I tried to put them in, but I cannot. Therefore, I think the quickest and easiest way to get to any of the next (or previous) stories is to click on my profile and go to the story's link.

Kim Possible and all related characters © Disney; Mercenary © J. Stearns.


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